Post by Diamond on Sept 21, 2014 5:39:22 GMT -5
Cast: Diamond Dancer, Dinky Doo
Synopsis: Lonely little Diamond Dancer manages to bond with Dinky Doo in the Castle.
Location: Canterlot Castle
Diamond_Dancer has taken up reading in the Main hall of the Canterlot Castle, much to the dismay of the castle guards lining up and down the hallways. All of them eye Diamond rather nervously, as if she were a ticking bomb about to go off at any second. She's not in the way, or anything like that- not sitting in the middle of the floor, or perched up upon the throne, but she's casually off to one side, idly flipping through the pages of a rather large tome. WHY she doesn't do this in the grand castle library seems to be entirely beyond the guards, but every movement she makes- specifically, reaching up to adjust the glimmering star around her neck, makes them twitch.
Eventually, a younger filly joins Diamond in the hall, also reading. The addition of DInky to what is now a tableau doesn't do much to putthe guards at ease. In a way, it eases them, because she reads here often. But she's also no picnic to deal with. And the way they're sitting in the same direction, albeit some distance apart, reading quietly, is creepy. Then they start turning pages at the same moment, and the creepy factor doubles.
Diamond_Dancer does not look pleased. In fact, she generally looks dismayed when she has to do her own research for one of her missions. Reading is not the pegasi's strong suite. This is peppered with glancing around, flipping the pages about without really reading them, and occasionally mumbling under her breath while holding her star. "Dis is hopeless!! ....UUGhhhhhh. Dare has got to be an easier way to do dis! I wish-" She trails off, and all the guards, ALL of them draw in a sharp terrified breath-only for Diamond to stop, and tilt her head at the presence of a new filly in the room with her. "Oh! Hey Dinky, whats up?" She smiles quietly. The last time she saw Dinky was.....was....was fighting off those Zombies in Detrot.
Dinky glances over as if she hadn't noticed Diamond there at all. Which of course she must have--how else can you explain the synchronicity? But she won't admit it. "Diamond Dancer, right? Night's Errant or something? You looking for a shortcut so you don't have to do your homework?"
Diamond_Dancer raises an eyebrow at the comment, and forces a silky little grin across her lips. "Shortcut? I don't take 'shortcuts' I prefoy da toym 'Time Savahs.' And you...you'se is supposed ta be Princess Luna's little magic expriment, right? Necromancy or somedin? What are you'se doin' round here? Heeeey, you'se wouldn't happen to know what a 'Wumpus' is, wouldja?"
Dinky cuts the air with one of her tiny but incisive shrugs. Time savers? Whatever. The force of Diamond's distinction is severely damaged, and no one the wiser. "Is that what I am? Honestly, I woudln't be surprised. Nopony tells me anything." She stands up, her book lying before her with a picture of some mist-shrouded demon thing on the page. "Yeah, necromancy or something. YOu never saw me in the palace before? I'm practically in the Night Court. And no, I give. What's a Wumpus?"
Diamond_Dancer's shoulders slump, defeated when Dinky admits to not knowing what a Wumpus is and Diamond shakes her head. "I was hopin you'se knew." She explains quietly. "I've seen you in da palace before, but just didn't dink you'd...Aww, skip it. Why ain't you'se in da night court? I thought you'se n' da Princess was close? Closer den we is, at least. Come ta dink of it...we ain't got no unicorns in da Night Court, really...You'd be a shoe in.
Dinky looks confused by Diamond's approach, like she's not sure whether the pegasus likes her or not. She scuffs the floor unconsciously, though she is conscious of the guards listening. "You think? Well, maybe I am. I dunno. Luna likes me, but it's not like we chat a lot. I haven't talked with her in a long time, actually. I'm really more of a Night Court groupie." She nods over toward a nearby central spire of the palace, at the base of which is Solar Eclipse's suite. "Betrothed to the prince," she explains.
Diamond_Dancer nods her head at that. Yeah, Betrothed. She knows that word. "Well, I'll tell her you'se wanna be in da Night Court, if you'se want, I mean. I dink it would be kinda cool. I'm da only filly on da court...Probably da youngest evah ta woyk for royalty on record, so, uh, it'd be cool to hang out with somepony my own age. "she says softly. "I could even help you'se with some of you'se necromancy stuff, I bet. I mean, Pegasi ain't got much magic, but..."She trails off, obviously not sure how to finish that sentence.
"Is it really an official thing?" asks Dinky. "I mean, are there perks or whatever? I guess I figured it was just, like, one of those things people say but that doesn't really mean anything. Like Honor Roll." She backs up a little and glances at the guards, who are pretending not to listen but doing so in a way that means they're listening. "But what? You've got insight, or something?" She looks carefully at Diamond's body and bites on what she was about to add.
Diamond_Dancer's ears faulter ever so slightly, and the filly bites at her lip. "Y, yeah. I mean, it's important. It's gotta be." She stresses drawing in a deep breath. It's really one of the only things keeping her going, after all. "You'se could practice you'se spells on me? Invincibility is good for dat. "She explains. "Sides, it's cool ta say you'se is a membah of da Night Court. Princess Luna gave me gifts, cause of it, aftah all!"
Ohhh, right," says Dinky, her voice and eyes showing recognition. "Invincibility. That's your thing, now I remember." She frowns, the tips of her ears quivering. "I wonder just how invincible you are," she mutters, and it's creepier because she -doesn't- mean it as a threat. "Luna gives me things, too. So maybe I'm in, who knows. So what're you reading about?"
Diamond_Dancer looks at one of her hooves- swathed in inky black darkness that leads up to her elbow, and in the case of her front right- all the way up to the shoulder. "I've been tryin' ta find out myself. Aftah a while, you start lookin' for anyding dat and break through you'se skin." She says quietly, and then quickly averts her eyes to her book. "Oh, I was tryin ta do research on Wumpuseseseses. Dats my latest mission from Princess Luna, but I ain't haven' too much luck. Wait, da princess has given you'se stuff too? Like what? She gave me da ability to see in da dark!" Diamond chirps proudly.
At first, Dinky thinks Diamond is talking about reading when it comes to breaking through skin. Her puzzled expression becomes merely disturbed when she realizes. "Uh. You--wait." She glances at the guards and then gathers her book and note scroll into her rucksack and wanders toward the central stairs, out of their earshot. "Come here. Let's get some privacy." She then says quietly, "So she gives you -abilities?- She's only ever given me stuff, like scones and a bigger house and a huge #&$ pile of hats."
Diamond_Dancer follows along, glancing around at the guards- who exhale visably when Diamond steps away from them. That wishing star causes more mess and clean up then they're paid for, and any moment Diamond isn't in the castle is a moment the guards can breathe freely. Diamond nods her head towards the other filly with a quiet smile. "Sure, check it out!" She announces, and lifts a hoof to -WHACK- herself across the head. Nothing happens....WHACK, WHACK, WHACK, WHACK!!! And suddenly, the filly's ares are glowing a bright yellow. "I can't feel anyding so I don't excatly have total control ovah it, but I can see in da dark when I do dis. "She explains. Another WHACK across her own skull flickers her eyes back to normal. "She also gave me my wishin' stah, a suit of armah, and da royal symbol!" She explains..
Dinky winces with every whack, and shies away from the glowing eyes. "Doesn't that hurt?" she asks reflexively. "Or... is that part of the invinicibility thing? Well. That's pretty boss, I guess. She gave me a suit of armor, too. Only wore it once, though." Now the guards are out of earshot and the nearest ones are at the top of the staircase they're slowly climbing. "Did she say why she gave you all that?"
Diamond_Dancer follows quietly, feeling, admittedly, more and more relaxed around Dinky the more that they talk. Her face winces slightly at Dinky's question and the filly gives a little nod. "Ahh...Sorta. Long story short, I can't feel anyding. Ahh, 'anyding' at all. Can't smell nuffin or taste nuffin either. Add dat to da supah durability and I'm 'invincible." As far as da gifts go, da Stah was da foyst mission I evah completed, and she gave it to me as a keep sake. Da royal symbol, was for any pony dat needed proof dat I woyked for her. Da armah was cause I asked for it, and thought it would be cool. "She admits, blushing faintly. " and da see in da dark ding was to help me with some of da missions dat require me ta go undah ground. "She explains
Dinky is getting pretty weirded out, and isn't hiding it all that well. Their steps on the staircase punctuate the conversation less and less often. "I remember now hearing about you wanting to get a star of your own. In fact--yeah, I do remember! I remember the first time you met Luna at all!" This gives Dinky a little more comfort. "It was Solstice and you asked her for a star! You were..." She works her face. "You were different then. Smaller, and... less bad-plot." She pauses. "So I guess you eventually somehow got a star down from the sky?"
Diamond_Dancer nods her head. "Luna gave it to me. I begged her ta be part of her court. Da foyst mission I got was to reignite a dyin' star. Shoulda been impossible, but I pulled it off, and she said dat was enough for her. I kept a peice. "She explains, looking into the distance. "...Dat was a long time ago..."
Dinky stares, but her hard face has been softened somewhat. "You reignited a dying star? How--how does that even work? I mean, how big is a star, anyway?" Dinky's done a lot of reading, but pretty much none on astronomy. "And how do they work?"
Diamond_Dancer blushes faintly. "It was about da size of a boulder. Heavy, and hard ta movie. "She explains with a little shudder at the memory. "Reigniting it wasn't an easy task. I had to find a gem stone called a "Ember Gem." Like, magma in crystaline form, I guess. It was way down deep in Diamond Dog Territory. Den, I had to charge it with an arcane pulse. Rarity and Twilight helped me wif dat part. Den dey helped me fuse it to da star, and I delivered it to Princess Luna.
"Huh," says Dinky. "Guess I always figured stars were bigger. Like, size of a palace or whatever. So... arcane pulse? Should I ask, or is this, like, boring details to you?" They've nearly stopped walking altogether.
Diamond_Dancer grins nervously. "Da arcane pulse was way, WAY ovah my head. Rarity and Twilight said dey could do it, though, so I let dem do it. I ain't got no idea how it woyked. "She says, coming to a bit of a halt. "Say......did you'se really mean it when you'se said I was, uh, 'bad-plot?"
Dinky looks confused. "You saying you're not?" She sits down on a stone step. "You seem like it to me, but I guess compared to me a tree is pretty bad-plot. So... a couple of unicorns did it for you, basically? This is back before Twilight had her wingding coronation, I'm guessing?"
Diamond_Dancer sits down next to Dinky, blushing ever so faintly. "Yeah, dey did. Heh, and yeah, before Twilight got her wingadings. I wish I FELT bad-plot. "She smirks. " Sometimes, it's really scary, da missions da Princess gives me, I mean. You ever get scared doing you'se magic with, uh, dead stuff?"
Dinky gives a deadpan look, seated there in the tall shaft of an ancient palace, surrounded by silence waiting to be filled with echoes. "Yeah," she says. "Yeah, I do. Like, for instance, I'm afraid that if I started in on you, you wouldn't turn out to be be so invincible, and we'd both be screwed."
Diamond_Dancer snerks. "I'm invincible. "The filly exclaims, crossing her arms slowly. "Fiyahfly, and Virga both did dare best, and not a scratch. I'm only gettin more and more so as time goes on. "She explains. "I figure once I get all crystal, I'll be completely unstoppable. "She huffs and she seems...sad by this concept. "If you dink you'se COULD...ya know...hoyt me...I'd like ta see it. I'd like ta feel SOMEDIN..." She sputters quietly.
Dinky looks more scared than before. "See, I was afraid you'd say that." She draws a deep breath. "Look. Diamond. It's Diamond, right? I'm a pretty pathetic unicorn. I'm eleven and I still don't have my cutie mark. Still scrawny as a reed. And the only thing I can do with my horn--I can't levitate or anything--there's only -one- magic thing I can do, so far. And that's..." She looks around to make sure the guard up at the top isn't listening down. "And that's kill things," she says quietly. "I can reach into living things, and twist up their life energy, and... and kill them." She strikes a very somber tone. "And if I killed an actual pony... let alone a hero or whatever... psh." She runs a hoof across her neck.
Diamond_Dancer looks away slowly, ears flattened against her skull. Her little obession gets the better of her sometimes, and she gives her head the briefest of nods. "S, sorry." She says staunchly. "Don't worry about it...I...I shouldn't have said nuffin. "She coughs awkwardly. "For what it's woyf...It sounds like...we both have abilties we don't want. "She says quietly.
Dinky's face shows emotions hard to name and maybe better left unexplored. She stands up. "I don't know if you can feel it, anyway," she says as they continue walking. "So far, I've only done it to grass, flowers, a tree, an angry ghost--you were there for that one--a snail's soul, and...and that's about it."
Diamond_Dancer nods quietly, quickly jumping to her hooves to follow Dinky along the staircase. "Yeah? Heh, last week I caught a troll's club with my face. Sent me bouncing along the cave into the wall. Hard, ya know. It was tryin' ta stomp me flat. When I wouldn't go down, it gave me dis look. Dis sort of...total confusion. I get dat look a lot. "She sighs. "Like a freak. Hahahahahahaha...I just realized, you'se magic is good for...killin' stuff...and mine is good for not dyin...ha...Sorry. I, I don't know why dat was funny. "She squeaks quietly.
Dinky does look irritated, but in a somehow endearing way. She hangs her head, walking quietly. "Yeah, pretty funny. It's like fate wants us to collide." She paces for a while, and now the upper guard isn't far away, a turn of the stairs up. "We're both freaks. We should be standing on either side of Luna when she starts shouting stuff about spiders and the fun being doubled."
Diamond_Dancer nods her head slowly, before biting at her lower lip, her gaze lost to something far beyond what Dinky can see. After a few seconds, her focus returns and she tilts her head. "Uh...Well, from one freak to anuddah, you'se wanna hang out sometime?" She asks sheepishly. Diamond doesn't seem to have much in the way of social interaction with ponies her own age. The creeping darkness over her body makes sure she's not a popular kid, and her missions often keep her out of social circles, but Dinky seems almost like a kindred spirit. It's worth the shot, at least.
Dinky looks up after a while. "Huh? Oh. Yeah. Sure, I guess. I mean, some things you can't help, right?" She doesn't seem to excited about the prospect. "I spend a lot of afternoons and evenings here after school," she says, now mounting the top of the stairs and arriving at the third floor, or fourth, depending on how you count. "Doing homework, waiting for the prince to get back..." She shakes her head. "Do you have, like, an office here or something?"
Diamond_Dancer laughs at that. "Me? Sittin behind a desk? Heh, I'll tell you'se a secret. Da guards 'round here hate my guts. I try not ta spend TOO much time in da castle. Technically, I've got quarters around here, somewhere. Princess Luna gave 'em to me, but I haven't really made use of dem. I'm generally in da library though, trying to find out about my next target. When I am here, I mean. "She explains.
Dinky nods. "All right. The library, sure. I go there, I'll look for you sometime." She glances back at the guard, who's watching, having overheard the none-too-quiet secret. "Or ask a guard where your quarters are, if I have to."
Diamond_Dancer smiles a little bit at that. "Ok, cool dinky, I'll uh, see you you later I guess. "She smirks. "Sure, my quartahs. I'm sure dare in one of dese towahs. If you'se find out, wouldja let me know?" She chuckles
Dinky walks a little closer. In a moment of boldness, she lightly hipchecks the gret Night Errant. "Yeah. Nice to meet you, I guess. Good luck whomping on your wumpus, or whatever."
Diamond_Dancer's ears perk at that boldness, and the Errant almost stumbles slightly to her left. It takes her a moment or two to figure out what happened- but finally it dons on her that Dinky touched her- which is not something quite so easy to acknowledge when you can't -feel- anything. But it brings a much warmer smile to her hlips none the less. "I'll do my best- it's for da princess, Aftah all!" She squeaks, now feeling relativly sure she should ask the Princess about getting Dinky into the night court.
Dinky smiles a puzzled, semi-smug smile. "Yeah. Luna's pretty cool," she acknowledges, before walking off into the random labyrinth of the upper palace. She glances back once for a second.
Synopsis: Lonely little Diamond Dancer manages to bond with Dinky Doo in the Castle.
Location: Canterlot Castle
Diamond_Dancer has taken up reading in the Main hall of the Canterlot Castle, much to the dismay of the castle guards lining up and down the hallways. All of them eye Diamond rather nervously, as if she were a ticking bomb about to go off at any second. She's not in the way, or anything like that- not sitting in the middle of the floor, or perched up upon the throne, but she's casually off to one side, idly flipping through the pages of a rather large tome. WHY she doesn't do this in the grand castle library seems to be entirely beyond the guards, but every movement she makes- specifically, reaching up to adjust the glimmering star around her neck, makes them twitch.
Eventually, a younger filly joins Diamond in the hall, also reading. The addition of DInky to what is now a tableau doesn't do much to putthe guards at ease. In a way, it eases them, because she reads here often. But she's also no picnic to deal with. And the way they're sitting in the same direction, albeit some distance apart, reading quietly, is creepy. Then they start turning pages at the same moment, and the creepy factor doubles.
Diamond_Dancer does not look pleased. In fact, she generally looks dismayed when she has to do her own research for one of her missions. Reading is not the pegasi's strong suite. This is peppered with glancing around, flipping the pages about without really reading them, and occasionally mumbling under her breath while holding her star. "Dis is hopeless!! ....UUGhhhhhh. Dare has got to be an easier way to do dis! I wish-" She trails off, and all the guards, ALL of them draw in a sharp terrified breath-only for Diamond to stop, and tilt her head at the presence of a new filly in the room with her. "Oh! Hey Dinky, whats up?" She smiles quietly. The last time she saw Dinky was.....was....was fighting off those Zombies in Detrot.
Dinky glances over as if she hadn't noticed Diamond there at all. Which of course she must have--how else can you explain the synchronicity? But she won't admit it. "Diamond Dancer, right? Night's Errant or something? You looking for a shortcut so you don't have to do your homework?"
Diamond_Dancer raises an eyebrow at the comment, and forces a silky little grin across her lips. "Shortcut? I don't take 'shortcuts' I prefoy da toym 'Time Savahs.' And you...you'se is supposed ta be Princess Luna's little magic expriment, right? Necromancy or somedin? What are you'se doin' round here? Heeeey, you'se wouldn't happen to know what a 'Wumpus' is, wouldja?"
Dinky cuts the air with one of her tiny but incisive shrugs. Time savers? Whatever. The force of Diamond's distinction is severely damaged, and no one the wiser. "Is that what I am? Honestly, I woudln't be surprised. Nopony tells me anything." She stands up, her book lying before her with a picture of some mist-shrouded demon thing on the page. "Yeah, necromancy or something. YOu never saw me in the palace before? I'm practically in the Night Court. And no, I give. What's a Wumpus?"
Diamond_Dancer's shoulders slump, defeated when Dinky admits to not knowing what a Wumpus is and Diamond shakes her head. "I was hopin you'se knew." She explains quietly. "I've seen you in da palace before, but just didn't dink you'd...Aww, skip it. Why ain't you'se in da night court? I thought you'se n' da Princess was close? Closer den we is, at least. Come ta dink of it...we ain't got no unicorns in da Night Court, really...You'd be a shoe in.
Dinky looks confused by Diamond's approach, like she's not sure whether the pegasus likes her or not. She scuffs the floor unconsciously, though she is conscious of the guards listening. "You think? Well, maybe I am. I dunno. Luna likes me, but it's not like we chat a lot. I haven't talked with her in a long time, actually. I'm really more of a Night Court groupie." She nods over toward a nearby central spire of the palace, at the base of which is Solar Eclipse's suite. "Betrothed to the prince," she explains.
Diamond_Dancer nods her head at that. Yeah, Betrothed. She knows that word. "Well, I'll tell her you'se wanna be in da Night Court, if you'se want, I mean. I dink it would be kinda cool. I'm da only filly on da court...Probably da youngest evah ta woyk for royalty on record, so, uh, it'd be cool to hang out with somepony my own age. "she says softly. "I could even help you'se with some of you'se necromancy stuff, I bet. I mean, Pegasi ain't got much magic, but..."She trails off, obviously not sure how to finish that sentence.
"Is it really an official thing?" asks Dinky. "I mean, are there perks or whatever? I guess I figured it was just, like, one of those things people say but that doesn't really mean anything. Like Honor Roll." She backs up a little and glances at the guards, who are pretending not to listen but doing so in a way that means they're listening. "But what? You've got insight, or something?" She looks carefully at Diamond's body and bites on what she was about to add.
Diamond_Dancer's ears faulter ever so slightly, and the filly bites at her lip. "Y, yeah. I mean, it's important. It's gotta be." She stresses drawing in a deep breath. It's really one of the only things keeping her going, after all. "You'se could practice you'se spells on me? Invincibility is good for dat. "She explains. "Sides, it's cool ta say you'se is a membah of da Night Court. Princess Luna gave me gifts, cause of it, aftah all!"
Ohhh, right," says Dinky, her voice and eyes showing recognition. "Invincibility. That's your thing, now I remember." She frowns, the tips of her ears quivering. "I wonder just how invincible you are," she mutters, and it's creepier because she -doesn't- mean it as a threat. "Luna gives me things, too. So maybe I'm in, who knows. So what're you reading about?"
Diamond_Dancer looks at one of her hooves- swathed in inky black darkness that leads up to her elbow, and in the case of her front right- all the way up to the shoulder. "I've been tryin' ta find out myself. Aftah a while, you start lookin' for anyding dat and break through you'se skin." She says quietly, and then quickly averts her eyes to her book. "Oh, I was tryin ta do research on Wumpuseseseses. Dats my latest mission from Princess Luna, but I ain't haven' too much luck. Wait, da princess has given you'se stuff too? Like what? She gave me da ability to see in da dark!" Diamond chirps proudly.
At first, Dinky thinks Diamond is talking about reading when it comes to breaking through skin. Her puzzled expression becomes merely disturbed when she realizes. "Uh. You--wait." She glances at the guards and then gathers her book and note scroll into her rucksack and wanders toward the central stairs, out of their earshot. "Come here. Let's get some privacy." She then says quietly, "So she gives you -abilities?- She's only ever given me stuff, like scones and a bigger house and a huge #&$ pile of hats."
Diamond_Dancer follows along, glancing around at the guards- who exhale visably when Diamond steps away from them. That wishing star causes more mess and clean up then they're paid for, and any moment Diamond isn't in the castle is a moment the guards can breathe freely. Diamond nods her head towards the other filly with a quiet smile. "Sure, check it out!" She announces, and lifts a hoof to -WHACK- herself across the head. Nothing happens....WHACK, WHACK, WHACK, WHACK!!! And suddenly, the filly's ares are glowing a bright yellow. "I can't feel anyding so I don't excatly have total control ovah it, but I can see in da dark when I do dis. "She explains. Another WHACK across her own skull flickers her eyes back to normal. "She also gave me my wishin' stah, a suit of armah, and da royal symbol!" She explains..
Dinky winces with every whack, and shies away from the glowing eyes. "Doesn't that hurt?" she asks reflexively. "Or... is that part of the invinicibility thing? Well. That's pretty boss, I guess. She gave me a suit of armor, too. Only wore it once, though." Now the guards are out of earshot and the nearest ones are at the top of the staircase they're slowly climbing. "Did she say why she gave you all that?"
Diamond_Dancer follows quietly, feeling, admittedly, more and more relaxed around Dinky the more that they talk. Her face winces slightly at Dinky's question and the filly gives a little nod. "Ahh...Sorta. Long story short, I can't feel anyding. Ahh, 'anyding' at all. Can't smell nuffin or taste nuffin either. Add dat to da supah durability and I'm 'invincible." As far as da gifts go, da Stah was da foyst mission I evah completed, and she gave it to me as a keep sake. Da royal symbol, was for any pony dat needed proof dat I woyked for her. Da armah was cause I asked for it, and thought it would be cool. "She admits, blushing faintly. " and da see in da dark ding was to help me with some of da missions dat require me ta go undah ground. "She explains
Dinky is getting pretty weirded out, and isn't hiding it all that well. Their steps on the staircase punctuate the conversation less and less often. "I remember now hearing about you wanting to get a star of your own. In fact--yeah, I do remember! I remember the first time you met Luna at all!" This gives Dinky a little more comfort. "It was Solstice and you asked her for a star! You were..." She works her face. "You were different then. Smaller, and... less bad-plot." She pauses. "So I guess you eventually somehow got a star down from the sky?"
Diamond_Dancer nods her head. "Luna gave it to me. I begged her ta be part of her court. Da foyst mission I got was to reignite a dyin' star. Shoulda been impossible, but I pulled it off, and she said dat was enough for her. I kept a peice. "She explains, looking into the distance. "...Dat was a long time ago..."
Dinky stares, but her hard face has been softened somewhat. "You reignited a dying star? How--how does that even work? I mean, how big is a star, anyway?" Dinky's done a lot of reading, but pretty much none on astronomy. "And how do they work?"
Diamond_Dancer blushes faintly. "It was about da size of a boulder. Heavy, and hard ta movie. "She explains with a little shudder at the memory. "Reigniting it wasn't an easy task. I had to find a gem stone called a "Ember Gem." Like, magma in crystaline form, I guess. It was way down deep in Diamond Dog Territory. Den, I had to charge it with an arcane pulse. Rarity and Twilight helped me wif dat part. Den dey helped me fuse it to da star, and I delivered it to Princess Luna.
"Huh," says Dinky. "Guess I always figured stars were bigger. Like, size of a palace or whatever. So... arcane pulse? Should I ask, or is this, like, boring details to you?" They've nearly stopped walking altogether.
Diamond_Dancer grins nervously. "Da arcane pulse was way, WAY ovah my head. Rarity and Twilight said dey could do it, though, so I let dem do it. I ain't got no idea how it woyked. "She says, coming to a bit of a halt. "Say......did you'se really mean it when you'se said I was, uh, 'bad-plot?"
Dinky looks confused. "You saying you're not?" She sits down on a stone step. "You seem like it to me, but I guess compared to me a tree is pretty bad-plot. So... a couple of unicorns did it for you, basically? This is back before Twilight had her wingding coronation, I'm guessing?"
Diamond_Dancer sits down next to Dinky, blushing ever so faintly. "Yeah, dey did. Heh, and yeah, before Twilight got her wingadings. I wish I FELT bad-plot. "She smirks. " Sometimes, it's really scary, da missions da Princess gives me, I mean. You ever get scared doing you'se magic with, uh, dead stuff?"
Dinky gives a deadpan look, seated there in the tall shaft of an ancient palace, surrounded by silence waiting to be filled with echoes. "Yeah," she says. "Yeah, I do. Like, for instance, I'm afraid that if I started in on you, you wouldn't turn out to be be so invincible, and we'd both be screwed."
Diamond_Dancer snerks. "I'm invincible. "The filly exclaims, crossing her arms slowly. "Fiyahfly, and Virga both did dare best, and not a scratch. I'm only gettin more and more so as time goes on. "She explains. "I figure once I get all crystal, I'll be completely unstoppable. "She huffs and she seems...sad by this concept. "If you dink you'se COULD...ya know...hoyt me...I'd like ta see it. I'd like ta feel SOMEDIN..." She sputters quietly.
Dinky looks more scared than before. "See, I was afraid you'd say that." She draws a deep breath. "Look. Diamond. It's Diamond, right? I'm a pretty pathetic unicorn. I'm eleven and I still don't have my cutie mark. Still scrawny as a reed. And the only thing I can do with my horn--I can't levitate or anything--there's only -one- magic thing I can do, so far. And that's..." She looks around to make sure the guard up at the top isn't listening down. "And that's kill things," she says quietly. "I can reach into living things, and twist up their life energy, and... and kill them." She strikes a very somber tone. "And if I killed an actual pony... let alone a hero or whatever... psh." She runs a hoof across her neck.
Diamond_Dancer looks away slowly, ears flattened against her skull. Her little obession gets the better of her sometimes, and she gives her head the briefest of nods. "S, sorry." She says staunchly. "Don't worry about it...I...I shouldn't have said nuffin. "She coughs awkwardly. "For what it's woyf...It sounds like...we both have abilties we don't want. "She says quietly.
Dinky's face shows emotions hard to name and maybe better left unexplored. She stands up. "I don't know if you can feel it, anyway," she says as they continue walking. "So far, I've only done it to grass, flowers, a tree, an angry ghost--you were there for that one--a snail's soul, and...and that's about it."
Diamond_Dancer nods quietly, quickly jumping to her hooves to follow Dinky along the staircase. "Yeah? Heh, last week I caught a troll's club with my face. Sent me bouncing along the cave into the wall. Hard, ya know. It was tryin' ta stomp me flat. When I wouldn't go down, it gave me dis look. Dis sort of...total confusion. I get dat look a lot. "She sighs. "Like a freak. Hahahahahahaha...I just realized, you'se magic is good for...killin' stuff...and mine is good for not dyin...ha...Sorry. I, I don't know why dat was funny. "She squeaks quietly.
Dinky does look irritated, but in a somehow endearing way. She hangs her head, walking quietly. "Yeah, pretty funny. It's like fate wants us to collide." She paces for a while, and now the upper guard isn't far away, a turn of the stairs up. "We're both freaks. We should be standing on either side of Luna when she starts shouting stuff about spiders and the fun being doubled."
Diamond_Dancer nods her head slowly, before biting at her lower lip, her gaze lost to something far beyond what Dinky can see. After a few seconds, her focus returns and she tilts her head. "Uh...Well, from one freak to anuddah, you'se wanna hang out sometime?" She asks sheepishly. Diamond doesn't seem to have much in the way of social interaction with ponies her own age. The creeping darkness over her body makes sure she's not a popular kid, and her missions often keep her out of social circles, but Dinky seems almost like a kindred spirit. It's worth the shot, at least.
Dinky looks up after a while. "Huh? Oh. Yeah. Sure, I guess. I mean, some things you can't help, right?" She doesn't seem to excited about the prospect. "I spend a lot of afternoons and evenings here after school," she says, now mounting the top of the stairs and arriving at the third floor, or fourth, depending on how you count. "Doing homework, waiting for the prince to get back..." She shakes her head. "Do you have, like, an office here or something?"
Diamond_Dancer laughs at that. "Me? Sittin behind a desk? Heh, I'll tell you'se a secret. Da guards 'round here hate my guts. I try not ta spend TOO much time in da castle. Technically, I've got quarters around here, somewhere. Princess Luna gave 'em to me, but I haven't really made use of dem. I'm generally in da library though, trying to find out about my next target. When I am here, I mean. "She explains.
Dinky nods. "All right. The library, sure. I go there, I'll look for you sometime." She glances back at the guard, who's watching, having overheard the none-too-quiet secret. "Or ask a guard where your quarters are, if I have to."
Diamond_Dancer smiles a little bit at that. "Ok, cool dinky, I'll uh, see you you later I guess. "She smirks. "Sure, my quartahs. I'm sure dare in one of dese towahs. If you'se find out, wouldja let me know?" She chuckles
Dinky walks a little closer. In a moment of boldness, she lightly hipchecks the gret Night Errant. "Yeah. Nice to meet you, I guess. Good luck whomping on your wumpus, or whatever."
Diamond_Dancer's ears perk at that boldness, and the Errant almost stumbles slightly to her left. It takes her a moment or two to figure out what happened- but finally it dons on her that Dinky touched her- which is not something quite so easy to acknowledge when you can't -feel- anything. But it brings a much warmer smile to her hlips none the less. "I'll do my best- it's for da princess, Aftah all!" She squeaks, now feeling relativly sure she should ask the Princess about getting Dinky into the night court.
Dinky smiles a puzzled, semi-smug smile. "Yeah. Luna's pretty cool," she acknowledges, before walking off into the random labyrinth of the upper palace. She glances back once for a second.